As a member of the Forbes wealth team I help compile the the Forbes 400 and Worlds Billionaires lists, however I'm always on the lookout for a compelling story about sports business. Before coming to Forbes I reported on the NHL and Major League Soccer for the SportsBusiness Journal and professional cycling for VeloNews magazine. I have covered a wide range of events, from the Olympics to local little league games. Before earning a masters from Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism I attended the University of California Santa Cruz. Email me at fdreier@forbes.com and follow me on Twitter at: @freddreier.

3/21/2012 @ 2:28PM1,996 views

Cycling 500 Miles For Bike Rights

Johnson, a pro cyclist, led the 500-mile ride from Boston to Washington D.C.

Pro bike racer Tim Johnson said he obeyed every stop sign during his 510-mile bicycle ride from Boston to Washington D.C., which began last Friday and ended Tuesday afternoon. Alongside 30 other cyclists, Johnson rode to raise money for the advocacy group Bikes Belong, and to improve the often-strained relations between cyclists and motorists.

“All it takes is one bad example from a cyclist, and you can ruin someone’s perception of bikes forever,” Johnson said. “Honestly, we didn’t have one person honk at us the entire time.”

For the second year, Johnson’s “Ride on Washington” kicked off the March 20-22 National Bike Summit, the bicycle industry’s annual lobbying effort on Capitol Hill. Regional bike advocates and industry representatives met on Tuesday and Wednesday to organize their lobbying push. On Thursday, bike lobbyists will meet with members of Congress and state representatives.

This year the summit has a clear goal: fight the House’s proposed transportation bill, which cuts funding for bike paths, bike lanes, walkways and pedestrian bridges.

House Republicans proposed the bill in January, and the five-year, $260 billion plan trims about $14 billion a year from the Senate’s proposed two-year, $109 billion rival plan. Proponents of the House bill argue that scarce resources should be invested in aging infrastructure for automobiles. The House bill nixes the Transportation Enhancement package, which sets aside 2 percent of the federal transportation budget for bike and pedestrian infrastructure.

The Senate bill, which passed that body on March 12, includes the Cardin-Cochran amendment, which allows metropolitan planning organizations to spend funds on bike and pedestrian infrastructure.

Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists, said the lobbying efforts of the bicycle industry helped keep bike and pedestrian funding in the Senate version of the bill.

“Two months ago, the Senate bill would have gutted critical funding for local bicycle projects,” Clarke said. “Thousands of people called and wrote their members of Congress and their voices were heard.”

The group set out from Boston last Friday. Photo by Jamie Kripke.

Johnson, who never attained Lance Armstrong-like status during his decade long pro career, talked bike racing with Massachusetts Senator John Kerry at last year’s summit. He said the summit shows that the bicycle community is finally making its voice heard. He hopes his annual ride spreads that message to casual cyclists and bicycle commuters.

Hundreds of casual cyclists joined Johnson for the final miles of the journey to Capitol Hill yesterday, including Volkswagen America’s CEO Jon Browning.

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